Champions League Preliminaries Review

It's like the 800 pound gorilla in the room for every MLS team that played in the MLS Cup, won the supporter's shield, or won the Open Cup. The recently expanded CONCACAF Champions Cup  League has brought on a new host of challenges for MLS clubs. The expanded tournament takes place right at the tail end of the season and goes into the beginning of the next season. Last year was a poor showing for MLS teams with New England losing 6-1 on aggregate to Joe Public FC, and Chivas USA losing 3-1 on aggregate to Tauro. In the group stages Houston Dynamo was the only MLS team to advance to the knockout stage with D.C. United only managing one draw and 5 losses. It was a poor showing to say the least.

This year MLS "lightened" the schedule toward the end of the season, and even excluded the Champions League teams from competing in the Superliga. That almost ensures that MLS will be more successful this time around, right? Well, maybe not.

D.C. United vs. C.D. Luis Angel Firpo


D.C. United was trying to shake the humiliating performance last year. They brought in Danny Szetela to give them added depth to an already fairly deep team. They were playing at home against an El Salvador team in the middle of pre-season training. D.C. trotted out what can be best described as a reserve lineup. They even rested starting goal keeper Josh Wicks and started reserve keeper Milos Kocic.

With the reserve lineup, things did not start out well for D.C. United. Greg Janicki had a had a bad give away in his defensive third, that resulted in a breakaway goal for Firpo. D.C. United tied up with a penalty kick goal by Jamie Moreno coming late in the first half. D.C. United was very unlucky not to win the game, however. The most striking opportunity came late in the second half, when McTavish ran down the touch line and slotted a ball to Christian Gomez who had an entire goal to shoot at. He fired a shot that deflected off a defender and out of play. Other highlights of the game included Danny Szetela, who made his first start in a United uniform. He impressed for the most part, showing his superior ability on the ball. He is of course still in pre-season, but I think he will be a good fit for the team. D.C. United now enter a much win situation on the road, against Firpo. They have been bad on the road, but against Firpo, who knows? They will have their friendly against Real Madrid five days after the game, but Sohen may through his starters out there in hopes that they will play relaxed on the 9th. Not likely.

Toronto FC vs. Puerto Rico Islanders


Toronto finally got the monkey off their back and made it into Champions League Preliminaries, only to be embarrassed at home against the Islanders. Like Firpo the Islanders got lucky after a bad mistake by the Toronto keeper Stefan Freij, which allowed Islanders forward Kendall Jadeosingh to strike at an open net. Toronto tried to salvage, and were like DC, unlucky to score in the run of play. The team even brought in Danny Dichio to try to tie the game. That didn't change the result. They now go to Puerto Rico next week to try and save this series.

New York Red Bulls vs. W. Connection FC


The only positive result came for MLS in this tournament so far came from the Red Bulls. Yes, that is right. The New York Red Bulls managed a draw on the road and are the only MLS team in good shape heading into the return leg. My goodness, we are living in bizzaro world. In all honesty, it is not that the Red Bulls are a good team, it's that W. Connection are an awful team. The Red Bulls scored no goals without some serious deflections that one could claim to be direct cause of the goals. The first goal the Red Bulls gave up was off the corner kick that the defense failed to clear, and the second came off a bad defensive breakdown. Overall, I still think the Red Bulls will find some way to screw this up, but they may be the first MLS to advance out the preliminaries. This Juan Carlos Osorio may have saved his job...Yeah that is not likely.

There you have it. After leg one the Red Bulls stand the best chance to advance, and the even get the weekend off to prepare for leg two at home. D.C. United and Toronto FC are not that lucky. Both have a road game, before traveling again to play the return leg. Seriously, can't MLS fix this broken schedule. If MLS seriously wants to do well in this tournament, they have to start giving the Champions League teams a break in between games. Otherwise, teams will end up rotating inexperienced players with lukewarm results. Read More!

Keeping Things in Perspective (Gold Cup Final Review)

Mexico wins 5-0 over the United States.

Ok, let's get the simplified analysis out of the way. For most of the second half, Mexico simply outplayed the United States. It was largely due to a severe mental breakdown by the US team and defense. The team lost their composure after a dubious penalty kick call for Mexico. Mexico just used their speed on the flanks and took advantage of a shaken US defense. It sucks and was very painful to watch for any American soccer fan. It is pretty hard to find any positives from this game, but there are certainly some that we can take.

The first half was almost a completely different story for the United States. They broke through the Mexican defense on several occasions, and nearly gave the US the crucial lead in the first half. Holden of course had the best opportunity to put the US up early in the second half, but he sent it sky high. Dissapointing that he couldn't put that away, but he is a young player and still learning. Mexico looked listless in first half, failing to put anything together and the US defense did a decent job clearing up any danger to the goal.

As far as individual performances, Troy Perkins most certainly kept the United States in the match while the defense was getting run over in the second half. You can't really say Troy Perkins was at fault for any of the five goals, it was largely on the defenses failings. Jay Heaps will never see the US shirt again. He was selected to give the US some age experience and basically started because there was really no other option. Stuart Holden and Kyle Beckerman played well in the first half, and with the defense leaking goals in the second you can't really keep them down too much for their performance. Everyone else was basically average or worse. The subs Santino Quaranta, Kenny Cooper, and Steve Cronin could really do little to change the course of this game. Overall it was a dissapointing and bad performance by this young team. However this is a very young and inexperienced team. For several players on the US roster this was the first international competition they have ever played in.

What about Bob Bradley? Anyone thinking that Bob Bradley was a fault for player selection clearly needs their head checked. He made the right selections in this tournament and gave several players much needed experience on the national team. He had to let players like Charlie Davies and Benny Feilhabler go off to play for the European clubs, and couldn't really call anyone else up after that. Bob Bradley put the best side he could out there and they preformed very well and even surprised me and several other critics until the end. Getting to the final with a truly inexperienced side says a lot about the team. It may be an excuse, but at the end of the tournament US only had one regular U.S. starter, Brian Ching, in the starting lineup.

What about the long term? This in my view does very little to hurt the US's forward momentum, despite what Max Bretos might think (More on him in another blog post). In fact it may even give the US team an added incentive (if they needed any) to give it their all come August 12th in Azteca. Several of the major players have already commented on their Twitters that things will be different. Yeah I know it is Twitter, but I am inclined to believe that this game will give the US players an added incentive to redeem themselves in Azteca. Also I would say several of the players on the Gold Cup squad will most certainly be back and are certainly players to consider for the future U.S. teams. Based on the tournament as a whole the future looks very bright for the United States.

What about the US's view in the American public? This doesn't really hurt the public's view of the game. Some uneducated sports analysis may discuss it, but only real die hard fans probably watched this tournament. Some may see it on the sport's scoreboard and some blow hards may point it as a sign that the US's performance is all smoke in mirrors. However, on the larger scale the US's victory of Spain does a hell of a lot more good for public relations then this Mexico loss does bad. Yes, Mexican fans will probably rub this victory in our faces and create "5-0" T-shirts and bumper stickers to counter our "2-0" memorabilia. Just suck it up and take it. If we beat them in Azteca, Mexican fans and the World will remember that far more than than this match.

Overall, this tournament has been a success of different sense. We didn't win the tournamnet and several Bob Bradley haters will probably say we have developed a habit of finishing second. Hey, if this means that we will finish second in the World Cup, it sounds like a good deal to me. More to the point we found some more added depth all around the field. Troy Perkins looks like a very good third string keeper for the 2010 World Cup, and even showed he could perform in packed 80,000 seat stadium against a quality team. Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers, and even Santino Quaranta are most certainly players for the future. Even players like Kyle Beckerman and Clarence Goodsen, who were probably never on the national team radar at the beginning of the Gold Cup, may even get some consideration post 2010 World Cup. Read More!

Open Cup and Gold Cup Review

Open Cup Final Set

The final of the US Open Cup is set, with D.C. United playing host to Seattle Sounders FC. There was no coverage of the semi-final game between D.C. United and Rochester. Luckily the blog arm of D.C. United (Behind the Badge) was able to provide us with highlights. Wait, what's that? There is absolutely no video what so ever of this US Open Cup semi-final? You have got to be kidding me. I can understand that live online video would have been a stretch, but it is inexcusable that there are absolutely no video coverage of the semi-final. A guy using a crappy DV camera would have been sufficient, just to let me see some highlights. It is just odd that D.C. United was able to do it for other Open Cup games before the semi-final. The fact that there is absolutely no video in this day in age is just hard to buy.



Fortunately the other semi-final game between Seattle and Houston was covered live on the Sounders website. I caught most of the second half and of course the extra time. Houston was up 1-0 at halftime and were basically packing the back content on holding on to the 1-0 scoreline. However, once the Sounders tied it up late in the second half, Seattle just took control of the game. In extra time they got the goal to go ahead, and that was really it for Houston. Seattle advances to the final.

The game will played in DC at RFK stadium, who won the bidding process. That has not sat well with the Seattle Sounders FC Adrian Hanauer, who felt that the Sounders could have raised the profile of the tournament and their bid was no different from D.C. United's bid. Of course, one would have to ignore the fact that Seattle's bid included playing on a Tuesday at 1:00. Yeah, Seattle fans may be dedicated, but I would be shocked if they had 30,000 people routing for the Sounders during that time slot. Plus, you have to consider the viewing audience. The game will be shown on FSC, and if the US Soccer Federation wants to generate a TV audience it does not include accepting Seattle's bid. D.C. United GM Keven Payne responded with this statement:

"I appreciate that Seattle's fans are great. Our fans have been great for 14 seasons. It's really unseemly for Seattle to suddenly show up in MLS and everything should be handed to them. Their crowds are wonderful, we had a great time out there in Seattle [last month], but our crowds are pretty good too and we expect this year we will get far more people in the building than we did last year [8,200]. Last year we played a USL team in the final and, the way our team was going in general at that point, our fans were disappointed and disillusioned. That's not the case this year. We are going to promote the game very aggressively."

Ouch, since when does Kevin Payne read Bigsoccer? Do we have our first real GM squabble on our hands? Maybe, but Kevin Payne is absolutely right. Seattle can't just show up to the party 14 years late and demand that USSF hand them the final. Point is, D.C. United put together the better bid and they were awarded the final. It may be unfair that D.C. has played this entire tournament at home, but that is the way the system is. There is no way that the Seattle could generate near the attention with a mid-week mid-day game. Plus with tickets going as cheap as $12 for the final, I think D.C. may improve upon their small 8,212 last year. 

Gold Cup

The Gold Cup has also reached the final, with the United States and Mexico facing off in a rematch of the 2007 Gold Cup. Let's face it, CONCACAF wanted this final. The groups were basically set up for a US-Mexico final. It will be an entertaining match, no question, but why does it have to be on the horrible field turf at Giants Stadium. Why not hold it in Chicago or in Philadelphia? Field turf just does not play like regular grass, no matter how new or fancy it is. It is good in some situations and for other sports, but can we please keep this out of professional and international soccer as much as possible?

The US played the first semi-final game against Honduras. For about 90% of the game, the US was the dominant team. Sure, Troy Perkins and the defense had to come up with a couple of big plays, but there was never really a time in the game when it looked like the US was going to lose the lead or the game. Clarence Goodsen put the US up 1-0 off a powerful header just before half-time. It was the most crucial part of the game, because it sunk Hounduras, who would have probably been thrilled to go into halftime scoreless. The second half was pretty much all US, with several opportunities for the US to double their lead. The nail in coffin finally came in the 90th minute, when Brian Ching did a beautiful job holding off the Hondurian defender. He back heeled it to Holden who found Cooper wide open for the easy goal.

Who impressed? Well, despite the early gripes about Kyle Beckemen and Kenny Cooper, they have really improved. However, both still have a very long way to go if they ever want to be considered for the national team. Perkins came up big on a couple of plays including one in the first half, and I think may have earned some consideration for the #2 spot over Guzan. Stuart Holden has played exceptional throughout this tournament, and has most certainly played himself on to the team, as well as Robbie Rogers. Brian Ching will of course be on the team, and is the only regular US player on this Gold Cup roster. Santino Quaranta is a player that I think has played well, but Bob Bradley has, for some reason, decided to bench. I would love to see him start against Mexico, but I am not counting on it.

The Mexico vs. Costa Rica game was a pretty slow game, going scoreless until Mexico went up 1-0 in the 88th minute. It appeared to be the game winner. In fact, according to Juan Arango, who has done the Omni-Spot telecasts of the Gold Cup, the reporters and several of the fans had vacated the field thinking it was all over. That was until Costa Rica tied up to send it in to extra-time and eventually penalty kicks. In the penalty kicks, the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa came up huge to make the only save of the shootout. That was enough as Mexico advance to the final.

Who will win the final? Honestly, the US are the favorites.Yes they are playing a B/C team, but they are playing with supreme confidence especially after the Honduras game. Mexico again will try to shake the playing inside the US against the US hex. I don't see that happening, considering they played an extra thirty minutes and the short turnaround to the final. Read More!

Could Bruce Arena be the Unsung Hero in LA?

Going to take a break from the Gold Cup to talk about MLS and the Los Angeles Galaxy. A majority of the focus has been centered on David Beckham and rightly so. The man is the most recognizable talent on the field, and has generated immense haterd from his move to AC Milan. Just ask the Galaxy fans. Many have predicted that Beckham's return will bring upon the demise of the Galaxy, who have improved after last season's debacle. Yes, as a D.C. United fan, I was looking forward to seeing the trainwreck Galaxy stumble until the end of the season. It sure has been enjoyble to watch the Galaxy enter their own downturn on par with D.C. United's from 2000 to 2003. With David Beckham and Landon Donovan trading shots in the media, it seems the stage was set for another Galaxy collapse this year.

The first game back for Beckham came against the league laughing stock the New York Red Bulls. Yes they were playing the worst team in the league. However, if the Galaxy had drew or struggled to beat the Red Bulls it would have been a sign of the impending doom that faced this team with Beckham back in the line up. However, they didn't fall apart. They beat the Red Bulls 3-1 and dominated just about every minute of the game. Alecko Eskandarian even had a goal that should probably win Goal of the Week this week. Landon and David even almost connected on a corner kick for a fourth goal. Both of them even had a joint press conference after the game to show that things were all peachy in Los Angeles. Whether that is actually ture or not reamins to be seen, but one thing is certain the Galaxy are not as weak as some have thought.

The reason? Well it may lie within coach Bruce Arena, who has quietly built a squad with depth and skill to possibly compete for the MLS Cup this year with or without Beckham. Bruce Arena spent the offseason with one goal in mind, imporve the defense. The team gave up a league leading 62 goals with a goals against average of just over two per game. To fix the problem brought in international defenders like Eddie Lewis, Greg Berhalter, and even Tony Sannah. Aging defenders yes, but the plan was to bring experience to a mostly inexperienced backline. It worked. The Galaxy currently sit in third place in the West, one point behind the Sounders and five behind Dynamo. They have only given up 19 goals this season, a huge improvement over last season, and their attack hasn't shown any signs of slowing down either. Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, and Alan Gordan have helped the Galaxy attack racket 22 goals. It may not near the 55 they scored last season, but they will most likely not have to. Now you had David Beckham into the mix. Does anyone else see something developing here? Let's not forget that Beckham is still a quality player that can make the difference in a team given the chance.

If the Galaxy are successful, this proves what I have always thought. Bruce Arena is the best American soccer coach, hands down. He coached at the University of Virginia and made it one of the top programs in the nation, winning 5 national championships. He spent three years at D.C. United winning two MLS Cups. Then there is national team, where he led the 2002 World Cup team in their best finish since 1930. Yes, he may have suffered in 2006 World Cup and with the Red Bulls a year later, but that doesn't exclude the fact that Bruce Arena has been successful with pretty much every team he has coached given the time. The Galaxy gave him that, and now the team is sitting well within the playoff hunt and could possibly make a run this year.

Of course I could be wrong. The Galaxy could fall apart, fail to make the playoffs, and Bruce Arena finds himself without a job, again. However, right now all signs point to a ressiance for the Galaxy this season and maybe a bit of creditablity restored to the team. Only time will tell, but one thing is certain the second half of the MLS season is going to add to an already crazy year in US soccer. And the World Cup is next year.

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2009 Gold Cup Quarterfinal Wrap Up

Only a complete moron would have predicted that Canada even had a shot at winning the Gold Cup this year. I mean come on. I didn't actually watch the entirety of this game, but I caught the last few minutes and saw what will undoubtably be another controversal call to go against Canada. In my view it was not a penalty kick. Man, they sure have a habit of attracting such calls. They had several opportunities to tie the game including including one header that deflected off the post.

It is dissapointing to see a country that appears ready to embrace the sport fall flat in big competitions. I mean, once hockey season is over, Canada doesn't really have another major sport to gain the country's support. If their national team could win the Gold Cup or even just get to the World Cup I think that Canada could become a powerhouse in CONCACAF. Hey, if you are laughing at the idea of Canada becoming a power in CONCACAF, many probably said the same thing about US back in the 1980's.

The US game on the other hand was just a gutsy performance by a less than stellar side. They played an awful first half, but then battled back to tie it up and take it to overtime. They dominated Panama in overtime and then came what can only be described as one the most blatent penalty kick calls of the tournament. Cooper came up big and drove it right into the net. Normally a match like this would have been a disappointment. However, considering the team was made of mostly MLS players and they were playing an "A" Panamanian side, it was a good performance for the US. This certainly won't be a match that will be memorable to many US fans and players, with maybe the exception of Kyle Beckerman, who notched his first international goal.

Speaking of Kyle Beckermen, he had one of the best performances of the tournament. Not only did he notch his first international goal, but he also made exceptional passes and was a threat throughout the entire match. Does this make him a potential for the 2010 World Cup? Most likely not, but he certainly adds some depth to the midfield. Kenny Cooper drew the penalty kick and notched the game winning penalty kick goal to send the US to semi-final. He certainly improved over the other performances in this tournament, but still won't probably make squad in 2010. Jeez, even Jay Heaps had a decent match. Now we are truely living in bizzaro land. However there is no way he makes squad either. Really the only players that even have an outside chance of making the squad are Robbie Rogers, Stuart Holden, and maybe Troy Perkins as a third string keeper. The rest will probably all be potential players for the 2014 or 2018 teams, if that. Unless of course the US wants to go for sentimental story and bring on Santino Quaranta. Not likely. More props have to be given to the Philly fans, who may have just squashed any fears about lack of support come next year for the Philadelphia Union. Nice job guys.

The games played on Sunday between Mexico and Haiti and Costa Rica and Honduras I can not really comment on since I don't get the matches on television. All I can say is that since Costa Rica won 5-1 and Mexico won 4-0 the true talent has appeared to float to the top. Here are the highlights.

Will their be another US vs. Mexico match up as an appitizer to big match up in August? Probably, but I still see one of these teams losing on Thursday.

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Predicting the Gold Cup Knockout Stage

The Gold Cup resumes play on Saturday after a week. You know, that little tournament that CONCACAF runs every two years instead four like every other confederation. The tournament that Fox wants you to think the US is the only team competing on a regular basis. I will leave the criticisms of how this tournament has been run and covered to other more reputable soccer bloggers. Instead, I will do my best to predict who will win this tournament. What?

Quarter Finals

Canada vs. Honduras

Put it simply Canada have been on fire in this tournament, and this is really the only thing that matters for this team. Honduras on the other hand have admitted that they are looking ahead to qualifying for the World Cup. Honduras are playing a "B" squad, and are far more concerned, like Mexico and the US, with qualifying for the big show in June next year. So in my view, Canada wins this game fairly easily.

Prediction: 2-0 Canada

United States vs. Panama

This prediction is easy. The US are, of course, playing a "B/C" team, but the US should have no trouble facing Panama. The last time these two faced off in a Gold Cup game was the final in 2005, which the US won on penalty kicks. With Stuart Holden and Brian Ching, the US should make quick work of Panama, so long as Jay Heaps is not allowed to step on to the field. Considering, however that the US is running low on players available and they are fairly thing defensively Panama could probably sneak in a goal. At any rate, the US will win.

Prediction: 2-1 US

Guadeloupe vs. Costa Rica

Again, another case of one team looking ahead, and the other with real commitment to this tournament. Costa Rica has World Cup Qualifying to worry about, where as Guadeloupe isn't even a part of FIFA. Guadeloupe were the surprise team in 2007, but considering a lot of their players play in the premier French league it really shouldn't be too much of a shock. In my view, this will be tough match for Guadeloupe, but I think they will come out on top. Yes, they lost 4-0 to Mexico in their final group match, but they were resting several of their starters.

Prediction 1-0 Guadeloupe

Mexico vs. Haiti

Mexico have been the comic relief of this tournament, at least for everyone who isn't a fan of the El Tri. They have played awful throughout this tournament and it is unbelievable that they mangaged to win their group. And of course there is the coach's stunt. Haiti made it to the second round and nearly beat the might Americans. As much as I love the Haitian team and thier fans, I just don't seem them beating Mexico. They played an ispired match against the US, but they just aren't that good to take down Mexico even in their decrepited state. However I think that they will manage to take them 90 minutes, but that will be where the magic ends.

1-1 Mexico advances on penalty kicks

Semi-Finals

US vs. Canada

It's dejavu all over again with Canada looking for revenge after getting hosed on an offside call in the 2007 Gold Cup semi-final. I think they will get it to. They are playing well, and the US has a bigger match looming on August 12th versus Mexico. Really, I think the US can win and very well might. However, there is a feeling in the pit of my stomach that says that Canada have all the makings to upset the United States.

2-1 Canada

Guadelope vs. Mexico

A rematch from the group stage and more importantly a rematch of the 2007 Gold Cup semi-final. Again, this is another instance of one team with bigger ambitions, and one team with everything to play for. I feel that Guadelope will win this match, which will be an upset of sorts. It will be close, but I think Guadelope just have more drive to win this game. However, I'm sure Mexico would like to have their coach on the sidelines for the game on August 12th. However, with how poor Mexico has been playing I just can't see them advancing to the final.

1-0 Guadelope

Final

Canada vs. Guadelope

Not necessarly the final CONCACAF would want to see, but this is an intriging final as it is. My view is that Canada will walk away the victors in this game. They simply have the better organization to beat Guadelope in the final, and this could be something that they could build thier program with. Guadelope may prove to be the surprise of the summer, but I don't think they have the power to win this tournament yet.

2-0 Canada

Canada win, and this may be a chance for them to build their program to make a run for the 2014 World Cup. However, they have won the tournament previously, and they still have another problem to fix.

Read More!